Bryant University’s new AI Investment Club will explore the value of integrating artificial intelligence into managing an investment portfolio and investigate whether the technology works better in a leading or supporting role.
Founded by Finance student Logan Richardson ’28, the club provides Bryant students with hands-on experience by managing a simulated $1,000,000 “paper” portfolio using both traditional financial analysis and AI-augmented research tools.
“There are multiple trading clubs that Bryant students are already part of, but this one will be specially developed to explore how we bring AI into investment research,” says Assistant Professor of Finance Poojan Patel, Ph.D., who is serving as the club’s faculty advisor. “The students will mimic what we do in the Archway Investment Fund” — Bryant’s $4 million student-run investment fund — “but will try to figure out where AI automation can really help.”
“The students will mimic what we do in the Archway Investment Fund but will try to figure out where AI automation can really help.”
The club will use AI to advise human analysts and portfolio managers for about three-quarters of its portfolio, while the rest of the fund will be what Patel called a “sandbox” to experiment with AI-led algorithmic trading.
More than 90 members have already signed on to the club, says Richardson, a strong early engagement that reflects the high level of interest in AI among Bryant students. “I use AI for doing basic research on companies for my own investing,” he says. “I think it will be very helpful for creating financial models, although it might take some time to figure out prompts that give us accurate models.”
The group could be a powerful teaching tool, Richardson believes. “We have a ton of freshmen and sophomores who don't really know anything about that side of finance, so if AI can help those students learn what these models mean, I think it will be huge,” he says.
“I think the biggest thing students will get out of the club is not only learning how to use AI but also a deeper understanding of financial analysis and modeling,” adds Richardson. “I think it ultimately will set these students apart from those who only have general knowledge of finance from the classes they're taking.”
Developing a process
Students will pitch investment opportunities during the club’s twice-weekly (Mondays and Wednesdays) meetings. “Students have 20 minutes to use AI to research a company, then 10 minutes to pitch the investment to the group,” explains Patel.
Richardson describes a process where AI will be called upon to analyze companies’ fundamentals as well as market and price trends to make investment recommendations.
“I think AI will definitely be helpful when it comes to deciding how much money we want to put in each sector,” he says. “We want to see how AI works placing trades based off the strategy we give it: how it follows that or messes up.”
“We want to see how AI works placing trades based off the strategy we give it: how it follows that or messes up.”
If the paper fund can hit its benchmarks, the club could eventually explore if they can match those results using real money, says Patel.
Richardson says he’s interested to see how the experiment plays out, “because I think the next step is just having AI place the trades.”
“Obviously that’s risky, but that's kind of the point of the club,” he says. “We want to see what the fund can do based off the information AI gives us, and then also just based off of its own capabilities.”